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Stigmomyrmex venustus
| †Stigmomyrmex venustus Temporal range: Bartonian, Middle to Late Eocene Baltic amber, Baltic Sea region | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Crematogastrini |
| Genus: | Stigmomyrmex |
| Species: | †S. venustus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Stigmomyrmex venustus Mayr, 1868 | |
Radchenko and Dlussky (2017) - Described from a single worker from the collection of Königsberg Museum (collection of Dr. Menge, Baltic amber). In his monograph, Wheeler (1915) reported three additional workers to Mayr’s holotype in the same Museum and he made some additional notes to Mayr’s original description and provided an excellent figure. The holotype specimen of S. venustus as well as three workers investigated by Wheeler seems to be lost (A. Gehler, personal communication, 2017). We found three workers from the Bitterfeld and Baltic ambers that fit well to the description of S. venustus: No. 27.176 (GZG.BST), and No. 218 and 245 (collection of Gröhn). However, none are in a good condition and many important diagnostic features are obscured, therefore we avoid designating one as the neotype of this species in the hope that better examples might be found.
Identification
Radchenko and Dlussky (2017) - Apart from the generic characters, S. venustus is typified by the quite peculiar foveolate sculpture on its head, mesosoma and waist, with no trace of rugulosity and by the absence of standing hairs on the legs.
Distribution
This taxon was described from Baltic amber, Baltic Sea region, Europe (Bartonian, Middle to Late Eocene) and is also known from Bitterfeld amber, Baltic Sea region, Europe (Bartonian, Middle to Late Eocene) (Perkovsky, 2016).
Castes
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- †venustus. †Stigmomyrmex venustus Mayr, 1868c: 97, pl. 5, figs. 99, 100 (w.) BALTIC AMBER (Eocene).
Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.
Description
References
- Mayr, G. 1868c. Die Ameisen des baltischen Bernsteins. Beitr. Naturkd. Preuss. 1: 1-102 (page 97, pl. 5, figs. 99, 100 worker described)
- Perkovsky, E.E. 2016. Tropical and Holoarctic ants in late Eocene ambers. Vestnik zoologii 50(2): 111–122 (doi:10.1515/vzoo-2016-0014).
- Radchenko, A. & Dlussky, G.M. 2017. New species of the extinct ant genus Stigmomyrmex Mayr and designation of the neotype of Stiphromyrmex robustus (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Anneles Zoologici. 67:773-780.